happening now, u.s. and world leaders mapping out a peace plan for ukraine as the violence escalates with the country's military and pro-russian rebels. this morning how president obama will get involved. we have team coverage breaking down this story ahead. bracing for impact.

the northeast smacked with a monster snowstorm. flights canceled. schools closed. people warned to stay off the roads. just how bad will this one get? then sam smith, he conquered the grammys. we will breakdown some of the big surprises ahead. it is monday, february 9th 4:00 a.m. in the east. i'm john berman. angela merkel meeting face-to-face with president obama in washington. she favors sanctions with russia if vladimir putin does not end fighting in eastern ukraine by wednesday. president obama is facing mounting pressure. our frederik pleitgen is live with the latest.

good morning, fred. >> reporter: there are some people who are saying they want these sanctions, obviously, to go forward. one of the things that is going on is a little more optimism here in kiev. because of the telephone call that took place yesterday between vladimir putin, petro poroshenko and angela merkel they managed to map out the system where they wanted to meet in minsk. vladimir putin gave an interview to a newspaper in egypt where he said not all issues have been sorted out. a meeting group meeting in berlin germany, to get issues off the table. the big one is how much territory would the pro-russian separatists keep in ukraine. they have more territory than the last time these people sat together.

what about nato membership for ukraine? that is high on russia's general. at this point, negotiations are continuing. if this goes bad, they are talking about sanctions on individuals, not sectors of the russian economy. there is always that idea that has been floated out by people like senator john mccain that perhaps it is time to arm the ukrainians. thes the obama administration says nothing is off the table. >> these deals have gone sour in the past. frederik pleitgen thank you. european leaders are moving forward with the new round of sanctions as fred said. targeting nine unidentified organizations. the highest profile target is the russian deputy defense

minister. let's bring in matthew chance with the russian perspective. good morning, matthew. >> reporter: good morning, john. that is right. the europeans speaking about ratcheting up the sanctions. what they want to see out of the summit planned on wednesday with the leaders of russian and ukraine and france and germany is a diplomatic solution to the crisis to an end. angela merkel traveled to the united states and she will meet president obama later today. there is this strange difference of opinion that emerged with the europeans and united states on this issue. a conversation going on in washington about whether or not to arm ukrainian government side in the civil war in the country. the europeans and angela merkel at the forefront of this categorically opposed to that. they said it could increase the costs on vladimir putin for backing the rebels in eastern

ukraine. the big concern is if you add weapons to the crisis it could make it much worse and the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in the region are at stake, john. >> the russian response is one the united states is worried of. matthew chance thank you. secretary of state john kerry insists the west has a unified front to stop the conflict in ukraine. there is a lot of disagreement over arming the ukrainians in the struggle of the russian separatists. let's get more now from washington with cnn's erin mcpike. >> reporter: the crisis with ukraine and russia is certain to top the agenda of the meeting today with president obama and chancellor angela merkel. we will hear from the two of them later today in a press conference after the meeting. that is happening as the debate is growing with the american leaders about providing lethal aid to ukraine could be counter

productive. it could escalate the situation with russia. that debate will be a key point of talks in berlin tomorrow and again at a proposed peace summit in belarus this week. and president obama is hoping for a peaceful solution to the crisis. secretary of state john kerry was in europe over the weekend and on nbc's "meet the press" he left room for the u.s. to alter strategy if vladimir putin doesn't stand down. >> the solution is a political diplomatic one, but vladimir putin has to take an offramp. we are committed to the sovereignty and integrity of ukraine. >> reporter: kerry and biden continued to say ukraine has right to defend itself but they have the right to stop short of

conditions of an all-out war. now some are calling on the u.s. to provide that lethal aid. >> erin mcpike, thank you. dhs secretary jeh johnson says this is not the time to play politics with funding for homeland security. some are trying to reverse the actions on immigration on any spending bill for homeland security. dhs funding dries up in three weeks. the secretary says if this happens, 30,000 dhs workers will have to are furloughed. >> just say well we will just make them come to work without pay. first of all, that is a challenge for the men and women working in my department. then this means furloughing 30,000 in our department and cutting back on our operations to pursue homeland security. this is not a situation to make

light of in these challenging times. we need a fully funded department. >> johnson is asking for an increase in funding over last year's level to pay for extra secret service for 2016 elections and more state and local police agencies. if an agreement is not reached, it will be impossible to extend nuclear negotiations with iran. that is what secretary of state john kerry says. he says the agreement must be in place next month. he claims the iranians have had more than enough time to claim the nuclear program is peaceful. the weather. boston and the northeast in the grips of a huge storm. some areas facing up to 2 more feet of snow. boston is still digging out from 55 inches of snow it has already had there. the mayor says there is just no place to put any snow. >> adding to last week's

snowfalls in a span of time this is an unprecedented area here in the city of boston as far as the amount of snow. >> some parts of new england have had over a half a foot. let's get the forecast from meteorologist car even macginnis. >> all of the people across the corridor are impacted by the snow storm. boston 63 inches of snow. this is the third storm we have seen in as many weeks. we have not met the top five snowfall totals but this system in addition to what we will see possibly with the next system by the end of the week we will be edging closer to that top five. it looks like for new york and down toward philadelphia and baltimore, we could see an icy mixture. that has its own set of problems. they are trying to figure out where to put the snow in boston. eastern massachusetts is the area that will be hit the

hardest. look for freezing rain or sleet or ice in philadelphia and extending through new york and long island and right around the cape of massachusetts and then it looks like the big chill toward the end of the workweek. we could see record-setting temperatures. we will keep you updated. john. >> a lot of snow and a lot of snow will not melt. time for an early start on your money. cristina alesci is here. >> not a good morning. u.s. stock futures moving lower. a few things weighing on the market. especially over greece's bailout. that aside, stocks finally seem to be on track. last week, the dow climbed almost 4%. that made up for big losses in january. we are slightly up for the year. breaking overnight, a new record says mega bank hsbc used the private swiss arm to hide accounts and help customers

avoid taxes. that unit had more than $1 billion in assets. and including people close to former egyptian president hosni mubarak. hsbc has reformed the policies in recent years. what is amazeing to me is not only was the bank helping people avoid taxes, but promoting itself as the place to come if you didn't want to pay taxes in your home country. they have a great product, it could save you a couple million dollars a year. >> giving their clients what they want. cristina alesci, thank you. the music industry's biggest night. big for sam smith. he took home four grammys for song and record of the year. album of the year went to beck

which was a big surprise. he also won for best rock album. beyonce, she won best r & b for song "drunk in love." joan rivers won for best spoken word category. the show featured a lot of live performances. among the highlights, madonna performing her song "living for love." one said she looks more like madonna than they has in a while. then a duet with tony bennett and lady gaga. and then the song "for five seconds." the family of an american woman taken hostage waits to hear if their daughter has been killed. we are live with the latest just ahead.

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coalition air strikes are pounding targets in syria and iraq. it has been overrun by isis for months. kurdish forces are trying to surround mosul to cut off supply lines. this as parents of kayla mueller plead with isis to contact them. they believe their daughter is still alive despite claims that a jordanian air strike killed her last week. becky anderson tracking the latest from amman, jordan. good morning, becky. >> reporter: the united arab

emirates flying a squadron of f-16s into jordan where i am to fight along the jordanian army who have taken a pivotal role in the last three days against da'ish. as far as what happens going forward, this is what the chief of the air force had to say over the weekend. >> the war against da'ish is going to continue. we are determining to achieve objectives of the war. not only to the great da'ish capabilities we are going to destroy da'ish. our weapons are on that target and we will achieve it. >> reporter: he went on to say the briefing john there is no evidence it was a jordanian strike that may have taken the life of that american hostage. no more details at this stage as

to whether she is indeed alive or not. this is a very big fight so far as the regional allies that needs attention. jordan is a very small nation buckling under the influence of refugees. this is a host country suffering. if you don't get the money and military might quite frankly, they say, the festering pockets of support for the perverted ideology will continue to grow not just in iraq and syria, john but other countries around the region. there is a real fear. you see evidence of jihadi fighters going from here into syria and in iraq. you have seen evidence of isis in egypt and libya and indeed in saudi arabia. this is an arab war, they say. this is not a western war, but they need a lot of help.

they need money and military might. john. >> becky anderson thank you. police in france detained six people of finances the jihadi networks. this is the second sweep in five days. the arrests were in southwest france. just last week eight suspected territories arrested in paris and lyon. egyptian government suspended all soccer matches. 30 people were killed before the game started. they blamed it on stampeding fans that did not have tickets. some claims they were tear gassed when they were entering the stadium. two years ago, more than 30 people killed. happening now, a showdown

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alabama's top judge has ordered all other judges in the state not to perform same sex marriages. although they are legal today. the state's chief justice

insists any marriage of the same sex in alabama is invalid. gay couples are expected to line up for licenses this morning. it is not clear if they will be granted to them. new problems in ferguson missouri. it is one of two st. louis suburbs hit with lawsuits over an abundance of traffic tickets that have led to jail time for minorityies unable to pay for the fines. this is a purpose to raise revenues so ferguson and jennings can stay afloat. the concussion claims against the nfl is reportedly close to be approved by a judge. it would compensate players who develop neurological problems during their careers. some say the nfl should have to pay more.

former fashion model is the latest cosby accuser. helen gumpel claims that cosby made sexual advances toward her. at least 15 women accuse cosby of sexual assault. he has not been charged with any crime. bruce jenner says he is cooperating with police in the investigation of the deadly crash in los angeles over the weekend. jenner's suv rear-ended another car and struck it into traffic where the driver was killed. investigators say paparazzi played no role in the crash. jenner released a statement saying it is a devastating tragedy. i cannot pretend to imagine what the family is going through at this time. i am praying for them. nbc anchor brian williams

backed out of a scheduled appearance on david letterman. williams has said the helicopter he was in came under rpg fire a version that has been contradicted by soldiers. williams announced he was taking a hiatus for several days. nbc is conducting an internal investigation. happening now, u.s. and world leaders pushing for peace in ukraine trying to end the deadly war that has killed thousands. what is being done this morning and why russia might not like it.

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ending the crisis in ukraine. president obama and other world leaders trying to stop the violence. the united states considering arming ukrainian military against pro-russian rebels. how will russia respond? we are breaking down the latest. a new huge storm splamlamming the northeast. records could be broken. flights are grounded. schools are canceled. people warned to stay off the roads. the morning commute could be treacherous. we will tell you what you need to know ahead. a big night at grammys. big wins and big surprises. we break it all down. it is coming up. welcome back to "early start." i'm john berman. christine romans is off today. we begin with the west struggling to stop the carnage in ukraine. angela merkel meeting face-to-face with president obama this morning.

merkel favors sanctions against russia if vladimir putin does not agree to end the fighting by wednesday. president obama facing pressure to arm ukraine. something merkel opposes. our frederik pleitgen is live in kiev this morning. good morning, fred. >> reporter: good morning, john. the eu is getting together earlier today and they are deciding whether or not to expand sanctions against russian individuals. not sectors of the entire economy, but individuals. however, one of the things that we always need to point out is until this point in time sanctions have had virtually no effect on russia as it pertains to the battle in eastern ukraine. it has not made russia change its course at all. the people in kiev see the talks in minsk in the capital of belarus which is the best chance of getting the cease-fire agreement going.

there is work that need to be done. there are connotationsultations in bur berlin. the russians and ukrainians will have to hammer out a new agreement to finally get a cease-fire. i would not say there is an air of optimism but they are saying right now, all sides are talking to each other and trying to hammer something out. of course in the backdrop of that ukrainians have seen cease-fires in the past and those have lane in shatters days after being signed. that is why they want what they call defensive weapons from the u.s. a big topic here in the ukrainian capital. >> indeed. so many agreements have been broken. frederik pleitgen in kiev. thank you. fred mentioned eu leaders are moving forward with a new round

of sanctions on 20 individuals. the highest is the deputy defense minister. let's go live to moscow a bring in cnn correspondent matthew chance. >> reporter: the russians say they are in favor of peace. they already agreed to a cease-fire that was broken in minsk in september. they blame the ukraine government side for failing to uphold that truce. both sides blaming each other for the earlier cease-fire. the lack of trust with the warring parties on the ground and the west and russia. the west regards virtually everything that putin says with skepticism. the fighting in ukraine is a

part of a broader attempt by the west to undermine russia and deprive it the natural sphere of influence. >> matthew, we know the sanctions have not stopped russia's involvement in eastern ukraine, but what effect are they having inside russia itself? >> reporter: they are having an impact. the economy is suffering here extremely severely. much of that is not to do with the sanctions, but drop in oil price. russia is dependent on crude oil. crude oil more than halved in the past several months. the sanctions imposed by the united states and european union have made matters worse. they cut off individuals and companies in russia from western financial markets. that made it difficult to refinance loans and things like

that. the sanctions have had no impact on the russia policy. they are still backing the pro-russian rebels in ukraine. it hasn't destricttracted from the level of support. >> matthew chance thank you. secretary of state john kerry says the west has the unified front to stop the conflict in ukraine, but there is disagree whether or not to arm the ukrainian military in the struggle on the pro-russian separatists. let's gets more from erin mcpike. >> reporter: the crisis with ukraine and russia will top the agenda today with president obama and chancellor angela merkel. we will hear from those two today in a press conference after the meeting. this is happening with the debate growing about whether

providing lethal aid to ukrainians could be counter productive. it could escalate the situation. that debate will be a key point of preliminary diplomatic talks in berlin tomorrow and a proposed peace summit in belarus on wednesday. the obama administration is leaving an opening. secretary of state john kerry was in europe for security conference over the weekend. on "meet the press" on sunday he left room for the u.s. to alter strategy if vladimir putin doesn't stand down. >> the solution a political diplomatic one, but president putin has got to make the decision to take an offramp. we have to make it clear to him we are committed to the sovereignty and interntegrity of ukraine. >> reporter: ukraine does have the right to defend itself but they are trying to stop short of creating conditions for an

all-out war. although as some republicans are now calling on the administration to provide that lethal aid, it appears some officials are opening the door to options. thank you. jeh johnson says now is not the time to play politics with funding for homeland security. some republicans are trying to reverse the executive action on the president's immigration. dhs funding dries up in three weeks. the secretary says if that happens, dhs workers will have to be furloughed and america's security will suffer. >> just say, we will just make them come to work without pay. first of all, is a real challenge for the working men and women of my department. and it means furloughing at least 30,000 of our department and cutting back significantly on our operations. our operations to pursue homeland security.

this is not a situation to make light of in these challenging times. we need a fully funded department. >> johnson is asking for an increase in funding over last year's level. he needs the money to pay for extra secret service agents in 2016. if an agreement is not reached in the coming weeks, it will be impossible extend negotiation was iran. john kerry insists the points of agreement must be in place next month. the secretary claims the iranians have had more than enough time to prove their nuclear program is peaceful. boston and the northeast in the grips of another snowstorm. snow falling hard in parts of new england with some areas facing up to more than 2 feet of snow. boston still digging out from 55 inches of snow. the mayor says there is no place to put it all. >> adding to last week's

snowfall in the span of time, this is an unprecedented area now in the city of boston as far as the amount of snow. >> parts of new england have seen half a foot of snow overnight. let's get the forecast from meteorologist karen maginnis. >> john, we are focused on boston because it is staggering. this is the third snowstorm in as many weeks. piled up is 63 inches of snowfall. way above where they should be for this time of year. they are wondering where to put the snow. the snow-zilla. removing the snow from the railroad tracks. it is hard to keep up. they are saying schools are closed. if you don't have to get out in this don't. some areas could see between 12 and 24 inches of snow. and then after the snowstorm, we're looking at some of the coldest temperatures we have seen all season. just to the south of connecticut, this is where we are looking at the icy mixture

on long island and new york and extending to philadelphia. even to the north of baltimore, those roads will be slick, they will be dangerous. you may not see much in the way of accumulation but nonetheless, the impact will be great. the impact is going to be not just on the roads, but for air travelers, it will be slow going. expect some lengthy delays. about 43 million people expected to be impacted. john. >> what a mess. time for an early start on our money. cristina alesci is here. >> good morning. stocks are not having a great morning. futures are moving lower. that aside, stocks are finally on track this year. last week the dow climbed almost 4%. that made up for big losses in january. we're actually up for the year right now. a lot to consider. including concerns about greece's debt and fed interest rate hike. of course, we are watching oil.

crude oil prices stabilized hovering around $52 a barrel. it is unclear if prices have found a floor or if this is a pause in the seven-month slide. the biggest oil worker strike in 35 years is getting larger. another 1,400 workers joined in yesterday. on top of 3,800 protesting at 11 plants. they call unsafe working conditions. there hasn't been an impact at the pump so far because there is no supply disruption. perceptions about supply disruption could impact pricing going forward. we will have to watch that and keep a close eye on whether or not your gas will is affected. >> raising gas prices. thank you, cristina alesci. the music industry's biggest night. big night for sam smith. he took home for grammys for song of the year and record of

the year. album of the year went to beck. he also won best rock album. beyonce won for best r & b for "drunk in love." and joan rivers won for best spoken word award. and who is that? it's madonna performing her song "living for love." ♪ hung around me through the week seem to ♪ >> that's tony bennett along with lady gaga. they have been on tour together. ♪ five seconds and we got ♪ >> and that is rihann and and kanye west and paul mccartney doing their song "for five seconds." 42 minutes after the hour. dozens killed outside cairo soccer stadium. what started it all?

we are live in egypt after the break.

egyptian government has suspended all premier league soccer matches. 30 people were killed before the game started. they blame it on stampeding fans without ticket. we have cnn's ian lee with the

latest. >> reporter: john, we are getting a better picture of what took place. thousands of soccer fans tried to enter the stadium through a narrow metal gateway. some described it as a cage. when a surge of fans tried to force their way in without tickets. this is according to the interior minister. they used tear gas to disburse them. people fleeing for their lives only to be trampled to death. we have pictures that show the shoes of the people that died and people who tried to run away and ran out of their shoes. i went to the morgue after the incident last night. family members waiting outside to collect the bodies of their loved ones. one father told me his son, his only child, went to the game to enjoy a great soccer match, but now he is picking him up at the morgue. a lot of blame going around.

some blaming the fans for trying to enter. a lot going to the government and police force saying they did not have the safety measures in place to make sure something like this did not happen. >> that is shocking given the history of the violence at soccer games over the years. >> reporter: that is right. almost three years ago, over 70 people were killed in clashes with rival soccer fans at a stadium in the northern coast city of said. they suspended matches after that. they would not allow fans to attend matches. it was the past few weeks that they started to allow fans to attend matches again and we have another incident like port said. >> ian lee in cairo. thank you. coalition air strikes pounding targets in iraq and

syria. a dozen attacks in mosul. the city in northern iraq which has been occupied by isis for months. kurdish forces are trying to surround mosul to cut off supply lines. this as the parents of american hostage kayla mueller try to plead with isis. they claim their daughter is still alive despite claims by the extremists that a jordanian air strike killed her last week. bill cosby cancelling shows after a new accuser comes forward. what the model says the comedian did to her next.

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alabama's top judge ordered all other judges in the state not to perform same-sex marriages although they become legal starting today. chief justice roy moore claims to strike down the gay marriage last month is causing confusion. any marriage of the same sex in alabama is invalid. couples are expected to line up for marriage licenses this morning. it is not clear if they will be granted. the $1 billion concussion claims against the nfl is close to be approved. the deal is expected to cover 20,000 retired players and

compensate players who develop problems with concussions and neurological problems during their careers. the fashion model is the latest cosby accuser. the comedian canceled shows over the weekend. helen gumpel claims he sexually assaulted her in her dressing room. a revealing report of how vulnerable your car could be to hackers. an early start on your money is next.

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let's get an early start on your money. cristina alesci is here with that. >> a rock start for stocks. futures are lower. a few things weighing on the market. especially the negotiations over greece's bailout. that aside, stocks seem to be on track this year. last week the dow climbed almost 4%. that made up for big losses in january. now yet another place we are vulnerable to hackers. our cars. a report from the senator's office out today finds will are major security gaps in almost every vehicle that uses wireless technology. that means hackers can take control of the car or collect the drivers personal information. get this the majority of automakers are sharing that information with third parties. including where the driver has been and where the car is

parked. nowhere is safe. cheryl sandberg says women get stuck with most of the office house work. in an op-ed, women are expected to be nurtureing and communal, but men are not expected to help colleagues. they write, someone has to take notes and serve on committees and plan meetings. just as happens with house work at home that someone is usually a woman. a couple of interesting anecdotes in the story. one is a woman sitting in a board meeting and several junior people around her. the chairman of the board instead of asking for the junior people for a soda, he turns and asks a woman to fetch the soda. >> thank you so much. "early start" continues right now.

happening now, u.s. and world leaders mapping out a peace plan for ukraine. the violence escalating with the country's military and pro-russian rebels. this morning, how president obama plans to get involved and the price that russia may have to play for the role in the fight. we have team coverage breaking down the story ahead. bracing for an impact. the northeast facing a new monster snowstorm. flights canceled. schools closed. there is nowhere to put the snow. we are live in boston tracking out bad this will all get. sam smith conquers the grammys. big wins on music's biggest night. we will break down the surprising moments all ahead. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm john berman. 5:00 a.m. in the east. christine romans is off this morning.